Why And How Taking The Time To Invest In Training Young People Benefits Your Entire Industry

There are a lot of negative stereotypes surrounding hiring millennials and the next generation of young people. These myths have damaged the reputation of millennials in the workplace, and made a lot of major companies skeptical to hire them.

Some companies believe the young people of this new generation are entitled. Others believe they have horrible work ethic, they’re selfish, they have no loyalty to their employers, and they are actually killing the workforce.

What this generation really needs isn’t more falsehoods, but someone to take a chance and invest in them.

Jack Bloom

Jack Bloom, Alpha Capital Holdings, Alpha Capital

I sat down and had a talk with Jack Bloom, the CEO of Alpha Capital Holdings about this exact topic. He takes pride in taking the time to mentor and develop young people in the financial capital business, as shown by his company’s alumni page.

Brian Rashid: Why do you take the time to invest in and train young people in your industry?

Jack Bloom: Thank you very much for taking interest in our people at Alpha Capital. I love mentoring these interns, and their success is my success. They are among the best and the brightest and really contribute to our company.

Rashid: Which one of your alumni success stories is your favorite?

Bloom:It is very hard to choose one person. Over the last five years, the biggest destination after working with us has been Goldman Sachs, then Deutsche Bank, Citi, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley

Rashid: How many young interns are currently on your team?

Bloom:Usually three sit here with me. More work remotely in places like Hong Kong because we do business with Chinese companies and their language and research skills help.

Rashid: Do you feel they’re just as passionate about finance as you or your older team members are?

Bloom:I have found that our people are just as passionate and driven – probably more so – than when I started 30 years ago. But things have changed. People who go to Harvard and Stanford can get financial backing and often go the entrepreneurial route. Kids from NYU Stern, Columbia,Peking University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are incredibly smart, focused and hard working, easily working 100 hour weeks. The former CEO of Morgan Stanley John Mack recently was quoted in Dealbreaker saying “the kids don’t cross the T’s and dot the I’s”. Today, the kids have a much broader range of knowledge and are scanning all media for every evolution in their industry and their client. I think it is a more important skill set. Look at the incredible rise of technology and finance. Their innovative thinking and compelling presentations amaze me. We can provide mentoring and training for everything else.